WHAT WERE POPULAR FORMS OF MUSIC, MUSICAL INSTURMENTS, SONGS, COMPOSERES AND MUSICIANS IN SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND? HOW WHERE THESE DIFFRENT IN URBAN/RURAL LIFE? HOW WHERE THESE DIFFERENT IN NOBLE/MERCHANT/ COMMON LIFE?
Answer prepared by Theresa B. Music was the center of everything for the people of Elizabethan England. Music could be heard on the streets, in theatres, in plays, in the queen’s court, in church, even while accompanying poems and stories. Music was everywhere.
During Elizabethan time, many changes were being made to music. Because it was often used to add to the feeling or intensity of plays, music had become much more expressive as to better portray the feelings happening on stage. Shakespeare especially relied on music for his career. According to the Elizabethan Music website he refers to different songs more than 500 times in his various plays and poems. Shakespeare’s plays can be divided into comedy, tragedy, or history and a different type of song is required to portray each of them. The theatres themselves were made to produce the best atmosphere for the plays. Many theatres had a place for the musicians to sit called the “Lord’s Room, however, today it is referred to as the “orchestra pit”. Many times the “Lord’s Room” was situated above the stage just behind the actors and facing the audience. Other times it was concealed beneath the stage to create a more eerie sound. Some of these designs can still be seen in modern theatres.
Elizabethan court music was a much more refined and beautiful sound. According to Ross Duffin in his book, Shakespeare’s Songbook, this genre often included instruments such as the violin, harpsichord, and early oboe, referred to as a ‘hautboy’. The musicians that played in Queen Elizabeth’s court were about 70 musicians and singers. These minstrels played in an area above the Grand Hall of palaces overlooking the crowd. This area was called the Minstrels Gallery. The music itself varied greatly and was always accompanied by dancing.
Music in the home was also extremely important. Every Nobleman had musicians that would play during dinner. Even the Middle class had at least one servant who would also play music for the family. Knowing how to read and play music was very important. According to the Elizabethan Times website, Queen Elizabeth herself was a master of the lute and harpsichord. In Elizabethan England everyone was expected to know how to play an instrument (Music in Elizabethan England 3).
The town music was known as the ‘Waits’. It originally followed the town watch and used high pitched instruments as an alarm says Jeffery Singman in his book, Daily Life in Elizabethan England. Later on, the Waits became a group of musicians that were paid by the town to give free concerts for everyone, including the Lower Class citizens. According Singman, the Waits often played instruments such as small recorders, violins, fiddles, bagpipes, and small drums. This became a popular form of music among the Lower Class.
Finally, the music of the church was a big priority of composers in Elizabethan England. According to Miriam Altman of University School of Milwaukee, Thomas Morley, a famous Elizabethan composer and supposed friend of Shakespeare, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal. The forms of church music during that time were Madrigals and Ayres and often included instruments such as the hautboy, violin, harpsichord, and lute. Church hymns and songs were so famous back then that many are still sung today in the Protestant Church (Shakespeare’s Songbook 57).
So, from the street, to the theatre, to the queen’s palace, music was everywhere. It was a pastime, a tool, and a necessity. Through everything that the people of Elizabethan England did, music was at the center.
Works Cited Duffin, Ross. Shakespeare's Songbook . New York City, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2004. Print.
Answer prepared by Theresa B.
Music was the center of everything for the people of Elizabethan England. Music could be heard on the streets, in theatres, in plays, in the queen’s court, in church, even while accompanying poems and stories. Music was everywhere.
During Elizabethan time, many changes were being made to music. Because it was often used to add to the feeling or intensity of plays, music had become much more expressive as to better portray the feelings happening on stage. Shakespeare especially relied on music for his career. According to the Elizabethan Music website he refers to different songs more than 500 times in his various plays and poems. Shakespeare’s plays can be divided into comedy, tragedy, or history and a different type of song is required to portray each of them. The theatres themselves were made to produce the best atmosphere for the plays. Many theatres had a place for the musicians to sit called the “Lord’s Room, however, today it is referred to as the “orchestra pit”. Many times the “Lord’s Room” was situated above the stage just behind the actors and facing the audience. Other times it was concealed beneath the stage to create a more eerie sound. Some of these designs can still be seen in modern theatres.
Elizabethan court music was a much more refined and beautiful sound. According to Ross Duffin in his book, Shakespeare’s Songbook, this genre often included instruments such as the violin, harpsichord, and early oboe, referred to as a ‘hautboy’. The musicians that played in Queen Elizabeth’s court were about 70 musicians and singers. These minstrels played in an area above the Grand Hall of palaces overlooking the crowd. This area was called the Minstrels Gallery. The music itself varied greatly and was always accompanied by dancing.
Music in the home was also extremely important. Every Nobleman had musicians that would play during dinner. Even the Middle class had at least one servant who would also play music for the family. Knowing how to read and play music was very important. According to the Elizabethan Times website, Queen Elizabeth herself was a master of the lute and harpsichord. In Elizabethan England everyone was expected to know how to play an instrument (Music in Elizabethan England 3).
The town music was known as the ‘Waits’. It originally followed the town watch and used high pitched instruments as an alarm says Jeffery Singman in his book, Daily Life in Elizabethan England. Later on, the Waits became a group of musicians that were paid by the town to give free concerts for everyone, including the Lower Class citizens. According Singman, the Waits often played instruments such as small recorders, violins, fiddles, bagpipes, and small drums. This became a popular form of music among the Lower Class.
Finally, the music of the church was a big priority of composers in Elizabethan England. According to Miriam Altman of University School of Milwaukee, Thomas Morley, a famous Elizabethan composer and supposed friend of Shakespeare, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal. The forms of church music during that time were Madrigals and Ayres and often included instruments such as the hautboy, violin, harpsichord, and lute. Church hymns and songs were so famous back then that many are still sung today in the Protestant Church (Shakespeare’s Songbook 57).
So, from the street, to the theatre, to the queen’s palace, music was everywhere. It was a pastime, a tool, and a necessity. Through everything that the people of Elizabethan England did, music was at the center.
Works Cited
Duffin, Ross. Shakespeare's Songbook . New York City, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2004. Print.
"Elizabethan Music." Elizabethan Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr 2010. http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-times.htm.
Singman, Jeffery. Daily Life in Elizabethan England. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. 151-153. Print.
Miriam, Altman. University School of Milwaukee. Milwaukee Wisconsin. Nonprint.
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